Renovating a condo in Ontario: approvals, rules and the order to do things

General guidance for Ontario. Requirements are interpreted by your municipality, so confirm the specifics for your property before you commit to a plan.

Start with the declaration, the rules and the board, not the design

In a condo you own your unit, but you share the building. Every corporation has its own declaration, bylaws and rules, and those documents decide what you can change, what needs approval and how the work has to be done. Two buildings on the same street can have very different rules.

Before you choose finishes or book a contractor, get a copy of the declaration and rules and ask management for the building's renovation or alteration request form. The Condominium Authority of Ontario says unit owners generally must ask their board to approve a renovation, and that municipal approval may be needed too. Even small jobs are easier when the request goes in first, because work done without approval can be ordered reversed, often at the owner's cost.

Your unit or the common elements? It decides everything

Inside your unit you generally have more freedom. Common elements are a different story. Exterior walls, windows, balconies, structure and pipes or wiring that serve other units are often common elements, but the declaration and the building's description are what actually decide the boundary, so check yours rather than assuming.

This is why some changes are simply not possible in a condo. A drain you want to move may tie into a shared stack, a wall may carry services for the suites above, and some corporations do not allow fixtures to be moved at all. A good contractor looks at this before quoting, not after demolition.

When you need a section 98 agreement

If your renovation changes the common elements, section 98 of the Condominium Act, 1998 applies. The change has to be consistent with the declaration and the Act, and the board has to approve it by resolution before the work is done. The owner then signs a written agreement that is registered on title to the unit.

That agreement sets out who repairs, maintains and insures the change, and who owns it. The owner asking for the change normally pays to prepare and register it, along with other reasonable costs such as an engineer's review. Boards have wide discretion here, but they have to act reasonably. If an older change was never approved, the corporation can require it to be removed and the area restored at the owner's expense, which is worth knowing before you buy a suite with a past renovation.

What most buildings ask for before work starts

The exact list depends on the building, but these are the requests we see most often. Having them ready shortens the approval time.

• A written description of the work, and drawings where walls, plumbing or electrical are changing.
• Your contractor's certificate of liability insurance, often naming the condo corporation, and a WSIB clearance certificate.
• A refundable deposit to cover damage to common areas, returned after an inspection when the work is done.
• Elevator bookings for demolition, debris removal and deliveries, with protective pads in place.
• Working hours set by the building, usually weekdays during business hours, and no noisy work outside them.
• Booked water shut-offs, coordinated with management because they affect neighbours.
• Clean hallways and elevators every day, and debris taken out of the building, not into the garbage room.

Flooring is the most common surprise

Replacing carpet with hardwood, laminate or vinyl changes how much footstep noise reaches the suite below. That is why many buildings require approval for flooring changes and set their own requirements for acoustic underlay. Some ask for the product's sound rating or test results with the application.

Ask management for the building's flooring requirement in writing before you order material. Installing the wrong underlay can mean lifting a finished floor after a neighbour complains, which is the most expensive way to learn the rule.

Plumbing, leaks and who pays if something goes wrong

Water is the biggest risk in a condo renovation because a leak rarely stays in one suite. If a renovation causes a leak or other damage to another unit or the common elements, the owner or their contractor can be responsible for the repairs. Under a section 98 agreement, the owner also takes on repair and insurance duties for the change itself.

Before any plumbing work, check that your own insurance covers the improvements you are adding, confirm your contractor's insurance, and make sure shut-off valves in the suite work. Our guide to condo water damage explains how repairs and deductibles are split between owners and the corporation when something does leak.

City permits still apply inside a condo

Board approval is not a building permit. As the Condominium Authority of Ontario notes, municipalities typically require permits for structural changes, changes to plumbing and electrical systems, and exterior changes. Electrical work also goes through the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), normally through a licensed electrical contractor.

Many buildings ask to see the permit before work starts, so apply for it and the board approval at the same time rather than one after the other.

A sensible order for a condo renovation

Following this order avoids most of the delays we see on condo jobs.

• Read the declaration and rules, and get the building's renovation request form.
• Have a contractor look at the suite and confirm what is unit and what is common element before finalising the design.
• Ask management for the building's flooring, hours, elevator and deposit requirements in writing.
• Submit the request with drawings, insurance and WSIB certificates. Apply for a City permit if the work needs one.
• If common elements are affected, wait for the board resolution and sign the section 98 agreement before work starts.
• Order materials with long lead times (cabinets, flooring, tile) once approval is in hand.
• Book elevators and water shut-offs, then start work within the building's hours.
• Finish with an inspection of common areas so the deposit comes back.

Renovating a suite you rent out, or managing several

For landlords and property managers, the same approvals apply, plus the timing of a vacancy. Planning the condo paperwork before the tenant leaves keeps the suite empty for less time. Our suite turnover checklist covers the repairs and records to handle between tenants.

Canata Construction renovates condo suites across Toronto, the GTA, Hamilton, Halton, Niagara and the rest of Ontario. We prepare the paperwork buildings ask for, including our insurance certificate and WSIB clearance, work within the building's hours and protect the common areas, and give you an itemized written quote before anything starts.